A new book on Brazilian Palms has been published. Brazilian Flora Lorenzi: Arecaceae (Palms) details 300 species, varieties, and natural hybrids of palms native to Brazil. The work, authored by Harri Lorenzi, Larry Noblick, Frances Kahn, and Evandro Ferreira, contains extensive diagnostic keys, and presents each palm with detailed photographs, descriptions, and distribution maps. The work also contains detailed summary descriptions of each genus.
Published by Instituto Plantarum de Estudos da Flora, the work is available in both Portuguese and English. The book is organized to be of great use for a diversity of readers. Quoting the book, “it is intended fundamentally for individuals interested in the art of gardening and landscaping, either as an amateur or professional, to nurserymen who provide seedlings of ornamental plants, to researchers of this group of plants, to professors and students of biological sciences in general, as well as palm fanciers, collectors, and those who love nature and enjoy viewing plants in their natural habitat.”
This recent volume is the result of over 15 years of study of the Brazilian palm flora, investigating palms in the field and in the living collections at the Instituto Plantarum, Montgomery Botanical Center, and other gardens. Dr. Larry Noblick, MBC Palm Biologist, led the work on Butia, Lytocaryum, and Syagrus, continuing his work on these palm groups related to the coconut palm. Of note is the great diversity of Syagrus found in Brazil, especially the diminutive savanna and grassland species. Dr. Noblick’s work with these plant groups has brought more of these interesting diminutive palms to light in recent months.